Story: I'm a Daemon, so what?
Disclaimer: I do not own the original setting.
Chapter 159: Meeting the Rulers
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- Felix -
It had been a day since Hinata and Luminous left to go on their little recruitment trip. They started off in Japan, probably so Hinata could try to recruit that S Rank Hunter that she seemed to like and had already blessed.
Kanae Tawata was her name, and she had already glazed the hell out of Hinata on live television, which was funny to watch. Especially because Hinata was there watching it with me, acting all embarrassed. It was fun to tease her about.
Hinata had been praised by many people in the Cardinal World, usually to her face, but that and having someone glaze her on live television was different. Especially since I imagine a large majority of this world's Humanity would be seeing it.
With the Blessing of Hinata's and the dedication that Kanae seemed to have towards helping the common person (something I knew due to Hinata researching her online), she would make for a decently strong subordinate for Hinata back in the Cardinal World.
An Enlightened, most likely. Sainthood wasn't likely, though. Those who reached that stage were cut from a completely different cloth, even compared to those who were extraordinary in their own right.
From what Hinata was able to find out, Kanae had no living relatives, and the only thing that stood out about her other than her S Rank status was her admiration for Goto Ryuji in the past; another S Rank Hunter of Japan's that died during the Jeju Island raid.
Now it was just Milim, Sirka, Lalatina, Megumin, and I remaining here. I had already contacted Rimuru and he said he was almost ready to leave. Apparently, some projects were going on in Tempest that needed his direct supervision for the time being.
In the end, I planned to pick him up when I dropped off Luminous and Hinata, which was probably for the best. With everyone that was coming, I'm sure this world will have to deal with even more chaos.
Though I wanted to take everyone to have at least some fun. Maybe a cosplay convention? That could be amusing.
I'm sure we'd be able to win any sort of cosplay competition at an event like that too.
And yes, the people of this world were still having these events on the regular. Seriously, no sense of self-preservation. That, or they were so used to living in life or death scenarios that they had just learnt to live in the moment and not worry about things they couldn't deal with anyway, which was an admirable mindset to have.
If you couldn't do anything about the situation, there was no point in dwelling on it. It was a useful mindset to have, even if a tough one to maintain in the moment you really need it.
Veldora couldn't come to this world for very long at all, though. Maybe only a day or two at most since he was the one powering The Dungeon with his magicules.
If The Dungeon ran out without him, then all the dimensions would just collapse, likely creating a massive explosion in the process that may or may not wipe out Rimuru City and kill all the Adventurers within, ruining Tempest's reputation forever.
So yeah, not the best idea.
It could last a few days without him, but The Dungeon was a very resource intensive place and wouldn't last much longer. The same went for Ramiris, so she wouldn't be here for too long either.
So I wanted to make sure the both of them enjoyed themselves here in this world too. Both were my friends, so I'd make sure they got the most of it, even with their duties. Veldora was certainly going to want to do a bunch of weeby things.
Maybe I'd get Gunhee to buy a bunch of unique anime figures for him. Imagining his reaction to that was already pretty amusing.
I had offered to invite Chloe too since she was close to Rimuru, but apparently she was still "locked in" and training. Controlling a Virtue Series Skill like Sariel, Lord of Hope to a proficient level was no easy feat, mostly because she didn't awaken it herself.
Apparently, she still wanted to fight me or something. I had offered it to her, and she accepted but nothing else came of it so I thought she changed her mind. But it seems she was just training before the fight.
Alternate me must have bothered her a lot or something. That or she wanted to use me to impress Rimuru or something.
But in the end, that girl was really bothersome to me. I didn't want something to happen and then to just be erased out of existence due to her time-shangigans, even if that was highly unlikely as things were.
I had already been using Adapter to adapt to that phenomena since I had the data for her Ultimate Skill, but even then I wasn't satisfied, which was partially why I came to this universe.
The cup that could rewind time may give me more useful data to use to adapt myself against something like that.
Chloe's whole schtick was essentially one of my greatest counters, as I wouldn't even know if something went wrong. I'd just cease to exist, at least if the Cardinal World having one timeline stays consistent.
That Skill was complicated to understand, even for me. From what I understood, it sent her memories back to a previous iteration of her, and since there should only be a single Cardinal World I imagine the leftover timeline was erased.
Either that or it existed somewhere out there, just out of my reach for now. But despite how relieving that would be, I really hope that wasn't the case.
Imagining an alternate version of me that had already crashed out sounded troublesome. Then there was the fact that a victorious Rudra would likely be way stronger, and maybe it wouldn't even be Rudra anymore, but a powerful Manas with who knows what up its sleeve.
Yeah… it was better if there was only a single Cardinal World.
But if that was the case, countless versions of myself had already been erased, and I refused to allow myself to become another one of them.
And Adapter would likely be the key to that. As it was according to the data on her Ultimate Skill: Chronos, Lord of Space-Time, her ability to time travel basically was still restricted heavily, even in Ultimate Skill form. There were conditions to it, so I don't think it will even be used in this timeline.
Not to mention, all of her Time-related abilities could be countered by casting Time Stop, as if there was no Time to manipulate, then there was nothing she could do.
The Planeswalker sub-skill gave me a whole lot of options. But in the end, I was still confident in everything working out. I just enjoyed looking at the possibilities and planning for even the most remote of possibilities.
I was very confident in myself, perhaps even overconfident according to some people, but that didn't mean I was stupid. You don't see people like Guy or Rudra recklessly charging into situations because they were "confident". Having a good plan never hurts, and only adds to having power already.
It was probably an odd hobby to have, but I enjoyed it.
That was for later, though. Now, I was considering if I could extort the Rulers for something more than just the used up Cup of Reincarnation. The Ruler I met said they were likely willing to offer the Cup of Reincarnation solely for the fact that I killed three Monarchs for them.
Now I'd be telling them about the Phantoms.
I was going to help either way, but that didn't mean I couldn't try to get a bit out of the Rulers as well.
There was one main prize I was eyeing that they may or may not possess; I'll have to see.
I summoned the key that Jin-Woo's dad gave me that would lead me directly to the Rulers' realm.
"I'll be leaving." I told Lalatina who was lounging with me.
"Mmm, okay Master~!" She said with a pout as she moved up and off me.
Milim was out sheaniganing with Sirka, as per usual. Milim was enjoying the new things going on in this world a lot. I had accompanied her most of the time and got to see her shenanigans first hand. Today I had prior obligations, so I had to decline, which was unfortunate.
Apparently, she was deep diving into the Mariana Trench for some reason.
Megumin had left just earlier to visit the Hunters' Association. She really seemed to have taken to teaching others through beating them up to the brink of death. That's essentially what she did to my military that was under her command, all consensually of course.
I got up and pushed some of my energy through the key. After a moment, it lit up. I could feel the Space in the area warping as the artifact did its thing. Before long, there was a shimmering white Gate in front of me.
I recorded the coordinates for later and then stepped through, my body turning into its spiritual form of energy in the process.
I took a deep breath. The energy intensity in this realm was far greater than that of Earth's. It was even higher than the Chaos World's, but that was to be expected. This dimension was far smaller than the Chaos World, so there was an equal amount of energy filling a far smaller face, increasing the potency.
The dimension itself was rather pristine. If anything, what popped out for me was the sheer order I could see everywhere I looked.
This was a completely spiritual dimension. The ground beneath me wasn't even really ground. It was just strands of light that were somehow woven together perfectly.
All in all, it was unnatural to me. It was way too clean and perfect for my tastes.
"Interesting." I muttered as I took another slow breath. I had expanded my senses and could sense legions of their army, all Angels of varying strength levels. Though none were in the area I had arrived, likely by design.
Above the sky, or what was meant to serve as the sky at least, was a massive expanse of gold, dotted constellations. They really went all out with the whole ethereal vibe they had going on. Some may even say they were trying too hard.
Then without warning, I felt multiple gazes focus in on me.
My lips tugged into a small grin. "Well it's rude not to show yourself."
A ripple spread across the golden sky as threads of golden light began to converge at a single point, condensing into a figure. The being had pure armor made of light, multiple pairs of wings, and a powerful aura.
The Ruler stood in front of me. "Greetings, Felix. I am known as the Brightest Fragment of Brilliant Light. I am glad that you have accepted our invitation."
It was the same Ruler that had initially possessed Go Gunee when I first arrived in this world.
"Yeah, no problem. Pretty nice realm you have here." I said, taking another look around.
I could also get a much clearer reading on his power now that I was seeing him in person. He was at around 3,000,000 EP, a fairly significant level of power, even back on the Cardinal World.
"Thank you." The Brightest Fragment of Brilliant Light responded.
That name was not going to roll off the tongue very well.
"If you are ready, I will transport us to the location where the rest of my kin are waiting."
"I'm ready."
"Very well then." The Brightest Fragment of Brilliant Light responded.
With that, we vanished in a flash of light and appeared in another room a moment later.
The chamber we arrived in was almost blinding, I imagine most normal people would go blind just like that. At least the Rulers were sticking to a theme.
The "walls" were no more than concentrated layers of woven light, as I was learning to suspect with these guys at this point.
In the center of the chamber were six other presences, each of them strong, though not as strong as the Brightest Fragment of Brilliant Light.
Yeah… maybe I'll just name him to change his name instead of referring to him with that title in my head. I imagine he's going to be the one I maintain contact with the most, and he seemed to be the one the others deferred to, even if subtly.
The Brightest Fragment of Brilliant Light inclined his head, introducing me.
"Our guest has arrived, brothers."
My eyes swept across them, taking in the gathering of Rulers. They were all sitting around a table, one that looked very normal, which stood out in comparison to everything else.
The one on the far left stepped forward first. There were minor differences in each Ruler's appearance, but it was enough to be able to differentiate.
"Greetings. I am known as the Illuminating Fragment of Brilliant Light." The Ruler introduced himself. He was a bit more humanoid looking than the rest, with long hair flowing down the back of his head.
Each Ruler went on to introduce themselves. They all had varying levels of strength, but were generally in the same ball park, which was as expected. And each of the Rulers had some central trait that defined them.
The Luminous Fragment of Brilliant Light was a bit softer than the other Rulers. The Radiant Fragment of Brilliant Light seemed to be the most militant of the group. His frame was larger than the rest, and his armor was also thicker.
Then came the Glittering Fragment of Brilliant Light who just seemed to be interested at the whole situation. The Dazzling Fragment of Brilliant Light would be even harder to look at for normal people. His form was less stable than the others, likely by choice.
Finally, the Gleaming Fragment of Brilliant Light remained further back and was mostly just observing things. He was just taking everything in, and I could sense him trying to analyze me. He seemed to be the strategist of the group, though that didn't mean a whole lot when the Rulers had already lost who knows how many times.
There were seven Rulers, each fragments of the primordial light of this universe. I wonder what would happen if I ate them all and merged them together with Degenrate's function?
I hadn't used it for such a thing, but with it, I should essentially be able to fuse lifeforms, creating something new that was probably a mix of all the fused elements.
Unfortunately, that curiosity would never be answered. I wasn't one to backstab, especially not for something as simple as my own curiosity, though maybe I'd get a chance to experiment in the future.
"Quite the welcoming committee." I hummed as I took the seat that was already extended for me.
Once the Brightest Fragment of Brilliant Light took a seat, the discussion began.
"To begin, we would like to thank you once more for slaying three Monarchs." The Brightest Fragment of Brilliant Light began. "That has done irrecoverable damage to the Monarchs' side, and while it seems that they have already replaced a single of their lost Monarchs, you seem to have dealt with that as well." The Ruler said while eyeing me.
"Ah, you mean Sirka? She's a new friend of my bestie. Don't worry about her, she'll be out of your hair relatively soon."
"Do you plan to take her with you to your world of origin?" The Gleaming Fragment of Brilliant Light asked without batting an eye.
"I do."
The Ruler nodded but didn't say anything else.
The Brightest Fragment inclined his head slightly, wings folding behind him. "Then we will trust your judgment in this matter. If she remains loyal to you, she will not act against our side." The Ruler said, more for the sake of the others. Through Lover, I could tell he had no intention of really messing with me, which was smart.
It wasn't really out of fear either, more just caution and a desire not to make more enemies. The guy seemed tired of the years of senseless war, and just wanted to relax once the Monarchs were taken care of. And not making an enemy of me only benefitted him with that goal.
"However we are not aware of the effects her leaving this universe will have on her, as she is connected to the seat of a Monarch of this universe." The Radiant Fragment of Brilliant Light informed me.
"That's a good point. I'll have to check that out." I can probably figure something out even if there is an issue of some kind. Maybe I'll get a better idea when visiting the World Tree where Monarchs become Monarchs. Maybe I won't even have to do anything at all.
The Primordial Daemons and Primordial Angels didn't have that problem from what I knew, but their status also couldn't be passed on from what I know, so different situation.
"We would wish to confirm this then before beginning any deeper talks." The Radiant Fragment of Brilliant Light began. "Would you desire to enter into a deeper alliance with us, and assist us with defeating the Monarchs once and for all?"
The room was silent for a moment as they all waited for me to respond.
I shrugged. "You all should have had it handled normally. You have the new Shadow Monarch on your side and the Monarchs are down three of their kind. You're essentially at an overwhelming advantage. If you lost, it would be to your own incompetence."
The Radiant Fragment of Brilliant Light nodded in agreement. This was just a formality for them then. They didn't really need me to fight their battles for them at this point, at least in their perspective since they didn't know about the Phantoms. They were doing this just to make sure I wouldn't become a thorn in their side.
"But things have changed."
I could feel the surprise in all the Rulers through Lover.
"But I'll get into that later into our talks. For now I agree to an alliance, but don't expect me to actually do much for you on my own directly. At most, if you're struggling, I'll have some of my people help you out, which realistically is more than enough, even with the new variables that have popped up."
I'd make sure they didn't actually lose, and I'd keep the loss of lives to an absolute minimum, but they didn't need to know that. I didn't want to just carry them to victory anyway, and I imagine they didn't want that either. After fighting against the Monarchs for eons, it would probably feel pretty hollow if they weren't even involved in their final defeat.
The Radiant Fragment of Brilliant Light nodded. "That is agreeable."
"Then as our new ally, allow us to inform you of everything that has led to this conflict, perhaps you can offer a perspective that we had not considered."
I already believed I knew a lot of how this all started, but it didn't hurt to hear it from their perspective. Plus, they'd have a lot more general facts than a manwha would.
The Brightest Fragment of Brilliant Light began by telling me of their origins, which I already knew. They were born from the primordial light of this universe, and the Monarchs from the primordial darkness.
Very similar to the Primordial Daemons and Primordial Angels of the Cardinal World. He talked about how the Absolute Being created the countless worlds that were all part of this universe, how worshipful the Rulers were of him.
Then he talked about how the Absolute Being set the Rulers and Monarchs up to fight against one another, mostly by manipulating the Rulers into thinking they were the enemies when they weren't at the start.
And then the Monarchs responded back. Though the Monarchs were far more bloodthirsty in general, so in my opinion, the conflict would have been inevitable either way.
They were the two strongest forces in the universe. Eventually, the Monarchs would do something the Rulers didn't like, as they literally represented opposing forces. The Absolute Being created them that way; they had no choice but to fight.
And then the battles began, with the Absolute Being providing the Rulers with more soldiers when things were getting too dicey, but never providing them too much.
Apparently, only the Absolute Being could create the angelic soldiers the Rulers made use of. The angelic soldiers were born from the fruits of the World Tree, which took in the power and essence of already passed on souls and used them to create the fruits. But only the Absolute Being could peel the World Tree's fruits, so after he died, the Rulers had a limited stock of troops under them, unless they started recruiting other races.
During their battles, the Rulers and Monarchs destroyed countless civilizations, as the Monarchs were created with the purpose of destroying everything, and the Rulers with the purpose of protecting everything. That was why they were so enthusiastic about at least protecting Earth. They seemed like they didn't want to fail again.
In the end, the Rulers got tired of it all first. They went to ask the Absolute Being for an absolute solution to the bloodshed, but apparently he essentially just ignored them and gave them the equivalent of the middle finger.
That's when the Rulers realized the Absolute Being didn't actually care about any of them, and decided to rebel. Ashborn wasn't enthusiastic about the plan and stood against his kin alone, but died in the end, though the power of the Shadow Monarch that the Absolute Being hid in him revived him.
The Rulers then went on to succeed in killing the Absolute Being. But in the end, that didn't actually change anything for them. The Monarchs still wanted chaos, and the Rulers wanted order and were obligated to protect it. The purpose the Absolute Being implanted them with compelled them to act on it.
"That's an interesting story. A rather unfortunate card you all have been dealt." I didn't say much more, as there was nothing else to be said. In the end, I was an outsider to their story, and any sort of empathy I could show them at this point would ring false.
"Now that you know. For your actions against the Monarchs, we have considered your request and collectively decided to grant it. You may take the Cup of Reincarnation." The Brightest Fragment of Brilliant Light said as he waved his hand, causing the cup to appear floating above his hand. With a gesture, he floated it to me, but I didn't focus on that. No, I was focusing on the aura it was releasing and just how familiar it felt to me.
"It only has a single use left, and I do not believe it will even work in a universe that is not this one." The Ruler explained. "But do with it what you will."
'Is that?' I asked Othinus just to confirm.
"I do believe it is."
For some reason, the Cup of Reincarnation was releasing an aura similar to the one my own Factor within me naturally released, and my own Factor was influenced by the assimilation of the three True Dragon Factors it took in.
As the Cup of Reincarnation landed in my hand I sucked it into my Infinity Space and began a deeper analysis on it.
As the Brightest Fragment of Brilliant Light said, it only had enough energy for a single use in it, and it only worked locally on this universe, but I was able to understand the exact Laws and mechanics it worked on.
It essentially taps into the temporal Laws of this universe to turn back time by one decade. It rewinds the local time of the universe, which is the reason that Spiritual Lifeforms seem to be able to retain their memories. Their memories are just stored incredibly deep in their soul, so they remain with them.
The Cup of Reincarnation made use of a different kind of time travel from Chloe, who just sent her own memories back, creating a branching timeline and (probably) erasing the old timeline due to the rule of a single Cardinal World.
It did store an obscene amount of energy, which made sense seeing as it could rewind this universe by a decade countless times. When full, it should have as much energy as a Catastrophe Class at least.
It was most certainly an impressive artifact I'd be adding to my collection, if nothing else. After all, what Demon Lord didn't have a collection of overpowered artifacts?
With some time, I could likely find a way to regenerate its unique brand of energy with Brahma, Lord of Creation. That, or just create a bunch of Cups of Reincarnation with Brahma.
But that wasn't what I was focusing on. After a deeper analysis, I could confirm Veldanava's aura was on the Cup. It was old, heavily diluted, and mixed with a more recent aura, but it was there nonetheless.
I could even feel the connection it has with this specific universe. If anything, the closest thing I could compare it to would be the World Tree in Sarion. Something connected with the world with a certain purpose.
I looked back at the group of Rulers, who almost seemed to be looking at me expectantly.
From what I knew, this was an artifact of their creator, the Absolute Being. There was a good chance that they knew nothing about it and its origins, but I didn't think that it was all just a coincidence.
"Do you know of a being known as Veldanava?" I asked. It didn't hurt at the very least to ask.
I could sense the surprise in the Rulers at Veldanava's name, but also a sense of relief and surety.
"Indeed, we have. The True Dragon Veldanava is the indirect creator of everything we have known, of that we are certain." The Luminous Fragment of Brilliant Light said with some worship in his tone.
That was weird, had these people met Veldanava in the past?
"Do you mind telling me what you know? I didn't think anyone would know about him other than people from the Cardinal World."
The Brightest Fragment of Brilliant Light nodded. "We would not have been aware of him were it not for the hidden journal of the Absolute Being we discovered after slaying him. But I suppose this confirms the world you originate from. You come from the Cardinal World, do you not?"
I slowly nodded. "I do."
Now this was certainly not something I remember in the story, which was exciting. This was a real universe within Veldanava's creation, and I was curious about the relations between the two universes.
Though I think it was more surprising that someone like the Absolute Being kept a journal. I doubted it was a pen and paper journal, but it was still a bit odd to think about.
"We will share with you what we know about our relation to Veldanava and the Cardinal World seeing as you originate from that world, so long as you satisfy our curiosity in return." The Brightest Fragment of Brilliant Light stated.
"Sure, I don't mind."
"Our creator, the Absolute Being, was part of a race known as the Itarim according to himself. This is a race older than many universes, and were among the first few beings to be born in this multiverse."
"Huh." I already vaguely knew a bit about the existence of the Itarim due to wiki diving a long, long time ago, but I wasn't sure how that lore would mix with the Cardinal World's. I wouldn't have been surprised if that race of beings just didn't exist in reality.
But apparently they did. No one had told me about that bit of the Cardinal World's history, and I certainly went out of my way to learn as much as I could. A lot of what I learned was from Ramiris though, and she may have forgotten her memories of that point or something. She was the first creation of Veldanava's from what I know, so she would have known about the Itarim if she had her full memories.
Either that, or she actually wasn't the first being to be created by Veldanava.
Maybe Guy would know about the Itarim. I had already considered that before even coming to this world, but there were cons to asking him.
With Guy, he'd immediately want to know how I even heard of the Itarim, which could lead to an annoying direction. Guy knowing about my ability to go between worlds was bound to be troublesome, I know it.
I can already imagine him whining to me to take him to other worlds to have fun or something. Not that I'd blame him. He's been restricted to the same world where he's been the top dog for who knows how long.
"We are aware of the history of this multiverse due to the Absolute Being's journal that contained much of what he knew about Veldanava. The Absolute Being aspired to be like Veldanava. He seemed to crave it, in fact." The Brightest Fragment of Brilliant Light said.
"The being Veldanava created this multiverse as a blank slate with its Laws, but nothing else, and then he incarnated himself as a being within his own Creation, stripping himself of his omnipotence, and becoming a mere nigh-omnipotent being."
Ah yes, from omnipotent to a mere nigh-omnipotent being; what a downgrade.
"With his level of power, expanding the multiverse, and populating it as he desired was no longer possible, he was simply far too limited as an incarnated being of his own Creation to expand and populate his entire multiverse. And so, he decided to create beings to do so for him, whose sole purpose was to create more universes, more lifeforms, and continue to expand his Creation. That is the Itarim, and most of them complete their purpose with pride."
"Huh."
"The Absolute Being was one of the many that were created by Veldanava and unleashed upon the multiverse with the purpose of expanding it. Certain designs were already implanted into their heads about how to go about such a thing, as well as how to make use of a certain rare type of energy that would be present in the areas where it was possible to create a new universe. The energy of nothingness is what the Absolute Being called it."
I thought that the multiverse was just ever growing due to its nature, not that there were beings out there literally expanding upon it. That was actually really cool.
Though the bit about certain designs being implanted within the Itarim was sticking out to me. I can only imagine those designs were in relation to the races he wanted created throughout the multiverse.
But if he created the Itarim so early on, then what was the point in Twilight Valentine attempting to make the perfect race for Veldanava?
My guess was time shenanigans at work or something. That was always something that stuck out to me. How the hell did Twilight only create the ideal Humans only 20-something thousand years ago, and yet many universes had Humans populating it for far, far longer.
Veldanava was far from omnipotent back then, but him being able to transmit information through time didn't seem impossible to me.
"So there are many of these other Itarim out there, creating universes just like the Absolute Being?" I asked.
The Ruler nodded. "We believe so, as did the Absolute Being. They go around, creating universes before leaving and doing the same, over and over. It is a cruel existence they maintain, but it is one they seem to do with pride according to the journal. The Absolute Being seemed to be the only one in the bunch that wished for more, and he was the only who seemed to have reigned over a universe he created like a deity, at least to his knowledge."
That was something to look out for in the future then. I hadn't encountered any of these so-called Itarim, but I also hadn't ventured into the outskirts of this multiverse, which is where new universes would probably be born.
I was learning far more than I was expecting on this trip, and I was pretty excited to learn more. I still had tons of questions.
"So what went wrong with the Absolute Being then?"
"We do not know." The Illuminating Fragment of Brilliant Light said. "In his journal, it was stated that he had created multiple universes prior to this one, and yet he had never acted as he did with this one. However, something seemed to have changed within him. He no longer desired to complete his purpose, and wished to be an omnipotent god like Veldanava, and so he reigned over this universe like a deity."
"And yet you all killed him? If he was that strong, no offense, but how did you actually kill him?"
The Brightest Fragment of Brilliant Light nodded. "That is a fair question. We were able to successfully kill the Absolute Being due to the restrictions placed on his existence, a restriction that was likely placed on all of the Itarim."
"Oh? What restrictions?"
"The Itarim do not possess any personal energy reserves of their own. They hold no direct combat power as they were designed this way, perhaps some sort of countermeasure from Veldanava to prevent them from reaching too far, as the Absolute Being did. From what we were able to discover, the Itarim made use of some mysterious energy that exists where nothing exists, and using this energy they created. But once they create, nothingness no longer remains, and so the energy disappears, and with this, the Itarim's power as well."
"So the Absolute Being staying in this universe actually crippled his power?"
The Brightest Fragment of Brilliant Light nodded. "We believe so. His ambition was so great that he disregarded everything else in order to play god, growing weaker and weaker in the process."
Well it was good that Veldanava thought things through and actually placed restrictions on the Itarim, or else I imagine there would be an entire race of universe creators/destroyers freely roaming around.
Though with the Absolute Being already dead, and for eons at that, I can't really analyze him. But maybe if the Rulers still have his corpse I can make use of that, so long as he didn't disperse into energy already.
Any data is good data.
I was particularly curious about that mysterious energy source that the Rulers kept mentioning. At first, I thought it may be stardust, but I don't think that's very likely. Stardust is uniquely suited for destruction, and isn't really the energy of "nothingness" as the Brightest Fragment of Brilliant Light called it, but I could be wrong.
If his body remains, I'm sure I can find a way to get the Rulers to give it to me. They don't seem to have any sort of positive impression of the Absolute Being anymore.
"So essentially the only "combat power" he retained was you all? He created you all and the Monarchs before fully losing access to this energy?" I asked for confirmation.
The Radiant Fragment of Brilliant Light nodded. "That is correct."
So that was how they knew of the Cardinal World then. That explains a lot, in that case, especially since I was curious how the lore of this world would fit into this multiverse's own lore and cosmology.
The Rulers went on to give me a bit more detail about everything. Like how much time had passed since the war between them and the Monarchs had begun and whatnot.
"Did the Absolute Being create anything else that you got your hands on? Feel free not to answer if you don't wish to."
The Brightest Fragment of Brilliant Light nodded. "He had created artifacts with the energy he had at one point." Seeing as he wasn't elaborating, I didn't ask more.
I was a bit curious about the artifacts though. With what the Absolute Being has been known to do, I imagine that those artifacts are quite interesting.
"I see. Thank you for telling me all that, I was curious about this universe's history. But that doesn't quite explain why the Cup of Reincarnation had Veldanava's aura on it. Even if the Absolute Being was trying to replicate him, it shouldn't be that similar."
The aura from the Cup felt a lot like the aura I felt from the World Tree, excluding the unique differences, it was still really close to that aura, and the aura of the Star Dragon Factor from my own Factor within me.
"That is because it is not a creation of the Absolute Being's. No matter how much he tried, he could never create something so similar. No, the Cup of Reincarnation is an artifact created by Veldanava himself." The Brightest Fragment of Brilliant Light shared.
"According to the Absolute Being's journal, each Itarim was given an artifact, one that was created with Veldanava's nigh-omnipotent power that was meant to, for lack of a better term, stabilize the universes they created. The time aspect of the Cup of Reincarnation is merely a side effect of its powers rather than its main function."
"Huh, interesting."
From what the Brightest Fragment of Brilliant Light said, the Cup of Reincarnation actually was rather similar to the Divine Artifacts of the Cardinal World, though of course weaker in its stabilization effects.
That does explain the similarities I felt when I analyzed it. I'd have to analyze it more deeply to understand this universe stabilization effect, though. I had only done a quick scan on its outer layer before.
"I have already done so, and as the Ruler had said, it does seem to have the ability to connect to the local Laws of a universe and serve as a balancing element in the universe's early days to prevent any sort of odd turbulence. I believe I already have a use for it."
'Oh? What use?'
"Over time, I have noticed that Infinity Space has been developing on its own, expanding, and obeying its own set of unique Laws, though to a very limited extent. I have also noticed the appearance of an odd form of energy I have quarantined off, or at least attempted my best at."
'Is it becoming its own universe!?'
That sounded straight out of a cultivation novel. I had a lot of mixed feelings about being like a xianxia protagonist. I also didn't miss the bit about an odd form of energy that Othinus had mentioned.
Especially with what I had just learned, it was a bit suspicious. The Rulers mention an energy that exists in areas waiting to be turned into universes, in areas where essentially nothing exists, and then I seemingly have some mysterious energy within my Infinity Space, which for the most part is also a void of nothingness?
Yeah, I could connect the dots. Though the fact that Othinus said she was 'trying' to quarantine it and hadn't 100% succeeded showed the potential that energy held.
"Not exactly becoming its own universe per se, but I believe the process is similar, and perhaps even natural to an internal universe such as Infinity Space. I believe even Rimuru Tempest's 'Stomach' will most likely develop in such a direction. It seems to be an inherent function of the sub-skill itself, one that was copied over with Beelzebuth, Lord of Gluttony."
I closed my eyes and attempted to see if I could feel what Othinus did. If I were being honest, Othinus understood the intricacies of Infinity Space better than I did. I could wield them with mastery, but she knew every single fine detail about it, something that almost nobody held over their own power. I doubt even Guy knew his abilities to that extent.
And as expected, I couldn't feel this mysterious energy Othinus was talking about, though that was probably due to Othinus' isolation of it, and its miniscule quantity.
It's not like I could scan the entirety of Infinity Space in an instant. It was the size of a universe, and it was always growing too.
'So you plan to use the Cup of Reincarnation to enhance this process.' I stated. It would make sense. The reason I had gotten as strong as I had as quick as I had was the tendency Othinus and I shared to just do crazy stuff that may seem stupid to others, but actually worked for myself.
Incorporating three True Dragon Factors into myself, stealing a powerful Unique Skill and evolving it into its Ultimate Skill variant, that being Brahma, Lord of Creation, summoning and taming multiple Primordial Daemons, and all the various other things that likely seemed crazy in a third person perspective.
There was a method to our madness!
"I will attempt to do so at the very least. Perhaps it will provide us with an enhanced understanding over the process and what is occurring within Infinity Space."
'I'll see if I can get the corpse of the Absolute Being to try and get more data on this energy then. If he remains, there is probably at least some taint of it remaining on him.'
"Affirmative."
'And just how long has this energy been in Infinity Space, and why didn't you tell me about it?'
I wasn't angry or anything, Othinus had my complete trust.
"I did not have even a partial understanding of the mysterious energy and believed that informing you would only needlessly worry you, which may even affect the phenomena itself."
'Hmm, okay. Tell me in the future about things like this. We're partners, right?'
After a moment Othinus responded. "Very well. I apologize." She said with genuine remorse in her tone.
'It's fine. You were just trying your best to look out for me.'
Othinus may be a super intelligent AI basically, but she did still only recently gain emotions. She could make mistakes just as easily as I could.
"Then if your curiosity has been satisfied, allow us to ask questions of our own. We have long since wondered what the Absolute Being craved to become and craved to create." The Radiant Fragment of Brilliant Light stated.
"Sure, I don't mind. Though just a heads up, the Cardinal World might not be exactly like you imagined. It's flawed just like any other world, with its own people who act just like any others for the most part."
I went on to explain the basic history of the Cardinal World, and it was safe to say they were shocked. Up until now, they believed Veldanava was this unbeatable divine entity, which was probably true. But he still died in the end.
I spoke about the Cardinal World and how it was created as well as its original races, those being the High Humans, Vampires, Giants, High Elves, High Dwarves, and all the other Elemental based creatures.
Then I spoke about Veldanava's death, and how he grew weak due to having a child. They seemed especially shocked about that part. Who would have thought that Veldanava had to abide by his own rules. It really was an ironic turn of events.
I didn't speak of the power system or True Heroes and True Demon Lords as there was no reason for that.
I spoke about the main "players" of the Cardinal World though, like Guy, Rudra, Luminous, Dagruel, and both the Primordial Angels and Daemons, as they were still around.
The Rulers also commented on the similarities they shared with the Primordial Angels and Daemons.
In the end, I made sure to satisfy all their questions, and they had a lot of them, but I didn't mind. It served as a good refresher for myself too.
"With the topic on the Cardinal World, now is a good time to talk about the extra variables that I had mentioned."
I wasn't sure how they were going to react to threats from the Cardinal World being here, and they'd be able to connect the dots pretty easily and realize it was probably my fault that they were even here in the first place.
The Radiant Fragment of Brilliant Light nodded. "Before that we had one last question."
I raised a brow. "Oh?"
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Author's Note:
Sup everyone, back with another chapter of Daemon. Despite what it seems like, this is a very important chapter to the story, as it introduces an element of Felix's final power up that'll come up in a bit.
We don't know the mechanisms behind how Rimuru acquired Imaginary Collapse, but what we do know is that it is present at the beginning of every universe, and at the end of every universe, so I took my own creative liberty with it. Some say it is Rimuru's True Dragon Magic, but eh, we ball.
Imaginary Collapse is way too good as a power, and copying it isn't really possible just like that to my understanding.
But other than that Felix finally has his big meeting with the Rulers, and you all learn how I intersect the Cardinal World's lore with the lore of Solo Leveling. I've had it in mind for a while, hopefully most of you find it pretty interesting.
Anyways, that's it for now, peace.
Thanks to @Salante and @Flowerman for beta'ing this chapter.
Last bit of editing -Omnax
Support me if you want to read ahead on pat reon *.com* / theogbasilisk